Release
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Critic score
80/100
Platform families
1
Editorial overview
Inside Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2
What it is
Ouendan returns with nineteen more J-Pop/Rock songs, along with nineteen more situations where only a cheer squad can save the day. The original Ouendan and joined by a new team, the Morning City Ouendan, who wear blue in contrast to the black of the Evening City Ouendan.
Gameplay is largely identical to the original, tapping, sliding and spinning to match the beat of the song playing, in order to progress through different stages of a song. The closer the player gets to matching the song, the more points will be earned and the better the rank achieved. The whole game is played using the stylus.
Improvements made in 2006's Elite Beat Agents (the non Japanese "remake" of Ouendan) have been carried over, such as the ability to completely skip introductions and unlockable songs. One replay can be saved on each song, improving the system from Elite Beat Agents.
The premise
Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii follows more or less the storyline from the original Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, and is set roughly six years after the original game based on the game manual and the age differences of returning characters. Players act as the leader of a three-person cheerleading squad. Whenever someone is stressed out or backed into a corner, all they need to do is shout "Ouendan!" (Japanese for "Cheer Squad"). Then, the Ouendan appear (usually out of a place like a closet or waiting there while eating ramen) and use cheering and dance to help that someone through their troubles. The map of the territory that the Ouendan patrol within Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii is the same as that found in the original game, although it has been turned ninety degrees and is now rendered using 3D graphics.
The original Ouendan (signified by wearing their long Gakuran jackets) are still present in this game, cheering people on. However, a new rival Ouendan appear that challenge the original Ouendan in skill and cheering (the "new" Ouendan are signified by their blue military-style outfits.) The individual stories are all unrelated, but characters featured in one stage may appear as background or supporting characters in another. One can also see characters from the first Ouendan game as lead, supporting or background characters, such as the pottery maker from the first game that appears as a guest at a hot springs, and gifts the hot springs family with new pottery work should the player be successful in the stage. In the final stage, all of the characters in the game unite when the two Ouendan join together and once again lead the entire world in a cheer to save Earth when the sun's activity stops, plunging Earth into another ice age.
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